Paccagnella Earns Scott Institute Seed Funding

Riccardo Paccagnella, an assistant professor in the School of Computer Science's Software and Societal Systems Department, received a seed funding grant from Carnegie Mellon University's Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.

“The Scott Institute seed grant program helps our researchers take bold risks and create what’s next in energy,” said Costa Samaras, director of the Scott Institute. “We are thrilled to support faculty-led energy research projects this year representing nearly every part of campus.”

The Scott Institute funding will help Paccagnella address a problem vital for sustainability and security: processor overheating. According to the International Energy Agency, 40% of the electricity used by data centers is used for cooling. Moreover, overheated processors can be exploited to leak sensitive information, a form of attack known as Hertzbleed.

Paccagnella will design and implement a solution called Goldilocks to help maintain a frequency level that’s “just right” for each machine and workload, providing a tool for mitigating security risks and reducing overheating in data centers.

Read the full story to learn more about this year's seed funding grants.